HoundDog

I have just visited both web sites and have sent Fidos a request for more information. I hopefully will be more able to point out some of the subtle difference between some of the baths. I own the very first Conmurra Autofill and one of the first PerfectPaws injected Autofill hydrobaths. I have taken a picture so you can see them side by side. Note that my Conmurra has recessed corners and is about 3" lower than the Conmurra Autofills produced over the last two years including today. Both companies now manufacture their baths with aluminium bases for added strength. Mind you mine is now 8yrs old and still in perfect condition. Some of the differences. PerfectPaws baths are injected fiberglass - more fiberglass added strength. All the plumbing is screw threaded and can be replaced by the end user with parts from places like bunnings. The rinse tank is same size as wash tank not 20-30L split. When you transfer water from the rinse tank to wash tank when originally filling your bath you run out of water and have to wait for the rince tank to fill to get that little bit extra water. The PerfectPaws bath has the dryer underneath allowing the bath to be more suited to trailer/van based operators. The front door and channel is rounded with no gaps or sharp edges. The hose is ultra flexable with s/steal reinforcing so it can not be kinked or crushed. Most hoses used on baths get even the smallest kink, they reduce water pressure. The fiberglass skirt goes alll the way from the base to the top lip, again more fiberglass added strength and give a smooth finish. They are joined with fiberglass glue (eg: sikaflex) not resin or bog/resin mix. Sikafles is used to attach fiberglass bumpers etc to cars. Both baths use Davey 171 pumps, both have Ezycoat dryers both use 240V. Nuts and bolts of it come down to same pump and motors. Except PerfectPaws use nearly twice as much fiberglass and plumbing that can be changed on the side of a road with basic tools and a produce store or bunnings - no fiberglassing or glueing involved. For some operators this is a huge plus as it can be very costly to be without a bath for a week while it gets repaired. Paying for the upgraded Davey 192 I don't believe worth it. For under $100 you can modify our existing bath with some plumbing changes and increase the rate in which your bath fills and the amount of water at the shower head. My original conmurra I modified the intake and it can fill as fast as the water is pumped out the shower head. Then I modified the shower hose and shower head, it now outputs 6x (thats right 6x) the amount of water at the shower head. While there is more water the spray is also softer. Imagine a bucket of water thrown at you and then a 44Gal drum of water thrown at you. The 44 will wash you off your feet. It is magic on Huskies, Malies, Saints, Akitas etc. Groomers will know what I mean when you get a Mallie with heaps of flea dirt. It will reduce washing time by half at least. I have not tried this modification on a Davey 192. There was no need, a Davey 171 is capable of 171L/min and when I tested my Conmurra (still the same as the ones today) was 13-14L/min. I would love the test a Barfshop bath as they have modified shower heads also. My Conmurra and Perfectpaws bath outputs 80L/min. So a davey 192 (capable of 192L/min) I don't think is worth it. PerfectPaws will have to do an update on the pictures on their website to reflect these new baths. As the one pictured on both sites are the same picture. These were taken for Jose the original owner of PerfectPaws and then bought hydrobaths Australia. So one company isn't copying the other the picture is about 6 years old and used by the same original owner. Both are really great baths as is for the BarfShop baths, Australia is blessed to have three now great companies in the hydrobath industry. I personally like the NEW PerfectPaws bath, I know where the baths stared their life and the extra bits of design that has gone into them. What is difficult is to compare and operate the baths side-by-side. I am fortunate to be able to do this and I have chosen the New Perfectpaws bath. The PerfectPaws bath came with everything as a top of the line bath, if there was an option this bath had it. I will wait to get the New Fido's/Conmurra/Hydrobaths Australia information booklet and add up all the extra features and see the difference in price. Wouldn't expect it to be much. But the selling feature for me was that is can be repaired anywhere, whether you live in Longreach or Logan Brisbane same day by the operator with next to no down time. That alone would make it worth any extra to Hydrobath industry operators. Anybody living in Brisbane and would like to check out my baths side by side is more than welcome. It is a lot of money for any Hydrobath even second hand and I am more than happy to show off my baths. I also have a small Midi bath with the electric rince facility sitting in my shed (belongs to a friend). I am not selling my Old Conmurra, can't remember how many times I have been asked. I work shiftwork as an Engineer for Boeing (737's) and home most weekend's. Like the saying goes "You get what you pay for".

At least the fibreglass baths are completely sealed units and also a little birdy told me that they don't think that they are earthing the wiring in their baths which could be particularly dangerous. I think what it comes down to in the long run is what YOU can afford and you get what you pay for. If you can't quite afford the Hydrobaths Australia bath right now I think it is worth the wait to save your pennies. It doesn't matter which bath brand you buy, all use sealed motors (Davey or Onga) usually. They come from the manufacturer with a 240volt plug attached. The plug is cut off and then terminated into the back of a waterpoof/resistant switch. A power lead is then run from the switch to the back of the bath out to your wall socket. They are that simple. Hydrobaths Australia offer different coloured power leads. Go down to bunnings and pick the colour you want, cut the plug off and then install it into your switch (licenced electrician is recomended for legal reasons). Yes we use fiberglass in our spa baths and pools. But we do not get 10 three inch nails and scrath the living hell out of it. Minor stress cracks will show in fiberglass and house nasties. A good operator will disinfect their bath between washes and at the end of everyday to kill these germs. To fix fiberglass baths, sandpaper and #1 and #2 cut and polish is all that is required. The odd polish will also keep you baths looking new. Plastic baths can have the scratches fixed by using a heat gun to help reflow the outer skin of the plastic. I will not melt and drip into a pile of gooo like a milk container, they use the highest quality plastic. The whole front of a Mazda 3 (radiator support) is all made from plastic as well as the intake manifold. Everybody knows you find it hard to touch an engine while hot, so how can they use plastic bolted up to the engine. As far as a 2000w heater in the plastic bath. Try this, get a paper cup and fill it with water, then try and set it on fire by holding a lighter under it. It will not burn. Remove the water and it will burn is seconds. So a plastic bath is completely safe while it has water in it. PS. No hydrobath heater will survive more than a half minute when it has no water over it. Hence why they are now installing micro swiches into hydrobaths to turn the heaters off when the water gets too low. Plastic baths are of no higher risk because of the heater. Hope some of this information is of some help in the decision making. :D

Try and crack a raw egg over the food and then mix it in. Or try boiled rice. Or a table spoon of sunflower oil. All these ingredients are in dry food but a lot of fussy dogs seem to like it and it all good for them.

My biggest PET HATE ----BY-PRODUCTS------ You see it on most Premium pet food labels as the first or second ingredient. As we know ingredients are listed in decending order of quanity. Below is an extract of what is allowed by AFFCO as a by-product. Yummie...... "Meat By-product" could be viscera and blood soaked sawdust from the floors of a packing house where meat is being processed.meat being processed can be lamb, beef, horse, or any other source. Each one has its own IFN. Some of the animal feed IFN's that contain wood shavings from the floor of a processing facility include "Dried Ruminant Waste" #1-07-526, and "Undried Processed Animal Waste Products" #5-02-790. It is important to note that the amount of wood shavings in either of these two "Meat By-products" is limited and should not be more than 35% in one and 40% in the other. When a pet food label's list of ingredients shows the word By-product you can be assured that there is NO measurable amount of meat in the ingredient. If the ingredient contained enough meat that it could be measured the pet food company would proudly list the MEAT, not just the By-product of that meat's production.